What | Western Illinois (16-25, 6-10) at Kansas City (20-18, 4-8)

Where | Macomb, Ill. (Mary Ellen McKee Stadium)

When | Saturday, April 24 (noon & 2 p.m.) and Sunday, April 25 (11 a.m. & 1 p.m.)

Watch | Leatherneck All-Access

Twitter | @WIUSoftball
 

Quick Hits

• Week five of Summit League competition serves as Western Illinois softball's final appearance on its own turf this season. Kansas City comes to town for a weekend series, running April 24-25

• Sunday (April 25) will feature 'Senior Day' for the Leathernecks. A group of four - Alyssa Ealy, Meghan Henson, Sydney Hollings, and Ashley Minyard - is set to be honored before the first game begins at 11 a.m.

• Hollings has continued her scintillating game on the batting end, moving up to 11 homers this season. That category currently sees her tied for second amongst all league players. Hollings' 11 doubles also lead the Summit

• This will be one of two remaining league series for the 2021 season

• Fans can check out this weekend's action through both live stats and WIU's home streaming platform: Leatherneck All-Access
   

Previously… 

Breaking out of league play for a cross-state rivalry matchup, WIU hosted Eastern Illinois on Thursday afternoon (April 22).

Early in the opening inning, EIU was first to score as an RBI single plated the contest's first run.

When the WIU hitters took over, the first pitch in the bottom of the first resulted in a Hollings homer far and high up the middle through the fence. It was the eleventh dinger for the fifth-year this season, which slides her up to tie sixth-best all-time in a WIU single season.

The score remained even until the third when EIU tacked in two more runs on back-to-back hits. A bad throwing error from the Panthers allowed Ealy to reach third base later in the period. Hollings then stepped up to bat in another RBI, this one being a sacrifice fly far to center-field.

Holding on to a 3-2 lead for the next two-inning stretch, EIU piled in a bit more damage down the line. An RBI double extended the lead by two, and one final insurance run happened in the seventh on an RBI sacrifice fly. Piper Foote singled for Western's last hit late in the seventh, but it would not be enough, as the visitors ended on top.

For the second straight game, Gabriela Drager ended with multiple hits - landing two for a team-high. Hollings' two RBI also paced the offense, while Abby Carlin struck out a game-high five batters.
 

A Historical Glance

Western holds a 48-27 advantage over Kansas City in the all-time series that started on March 27, 1994. However, the Roos are on a six-game winning streak. The most recent meeting happened at a neutral location on February 10, 2019, where KC won 9-1.
 

The Scout

Kansas City is currently sixth in the league standings… the Roos stand second in the Summit in team batting average (.284), with Faith Willis leading the way at a .344 clip… Kloe Hilbrenner's 44 hits and 32 runs scored are both top marks in the league… Lia Lombardi has drawn a league-leading 26 walks while also placing second in both RBI (36) and on-base percentage (.467)… Mia Hoveland has produced the most for KC in the circle, as her 131.0 innings pitched and 145 strikeouts pace all league pitchers.
 

Weekends Well-Spent

This year, due to reductions in non-conference play for most programs, The Summit League has expanded its league schedule to four-game series, as opponents will face off in two doubleheaders each weekend. The previous league format was a three-game weekend series - one doubleheader and one single game.